Cases About Motions to Dismiss Based on Errors and Omissions In Evidence

In Sims-Hearn v. Office of the Medical Examiner, 359 Ill. App. 3d 439, 834 N.E.2d 505, 295 Ill. Dec. 924 (2005), a dismissal of the plaintiff's complaint (alleging a botched autopsy) was affirmed despite her evidence of errors and omissions in the autopsy report. In Ware v. City of Chicago, 375 Ill. App. 3d 574, 873 N.E.2d 944, 314 Ill. Dec. 14 (2007), an order denying the defendant's motion to dismiss was reversed despite evidence presented by the plaintiff (who alleged willful and wanton conduct in the enforcement of a building code) that a porch collapsed causing multiple deaths. In neither of these cases did the court find that the defendant owed no duty whatsoever; rather, the court in each case found that any duty owed was owed to the public at large, not the individual plaintiff. See Sims-Hearn, 359 Ill. App. 3d at 445-46; Ware, 375 Ill. App. 3d at 581.